The Klingon Treasure - CH 4 (of 5)
The Hole in the Plot
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CHAPTER IV
The Hole in the Plot
THE boys were caught by surprise. The massive being seemed to dwarf them in the darkness. Spock stepped forward.
“What is your name, sir?”
The Klingon looked at the boy quizzically. He was a little more used to people screaming in terror. “I am Kloroth, son of Klorox, and your fate is sealed!”
“I sincerely doubt that.” Spock said. If he feared the Klingon, his training in logic held his emotions at bay.
Kloroth was taken aback. By this time, his enemies were usually on the floor begging for mercy. “Wha – What do you mean?”
Spock was absolutely stoic. His eyes met the Kloroth’s gaze and did not falter. “You will not be firing your weapon at us; you are, essentially, unarmed.”
“What kind of baktag are you shoveling, whelp? I’m the one with the disruptor.”
“A disruptor that is completely discharged.”
“Really? How do you figure?”
“Simple logic. If your weapon was charged, it would have been much simpler to fire on Hector, rather than attacking him physically.”
“This is your logic? What kind of a Vulcan are you? Did you not stop to consider that I might simply enjoy tearing a man limb from limb?”
“True,” Spock conceded, “Klingons value battle as a badge of honor and a birthright. Also true, my hypothesis is based on very little evidence. However, it is also true that this discourse is no longer relevant.”
The Klingon laughed a mighty laugh. “Really. And why is that?”
“Because, Kloroth, honored son of Klorox, our conversation was a ruse, and you are now surrounded.” True to his word, the other boys had slowly moved to flanking positions, with Leonard and Montgomery on either side, and Jim moving behind the hulking alien.
Before Kloroth had time to react, the boys sprang into action! Like an opposing team tackling a quarterback, Jim went for Kloroth’s legs, as Leonard and Montgomery dove for his chest. Taken completely by surprise and knocked off balance, Kloroth toppled backward hard onto his back, the floorboards cracking and groaning menacingly under the weight of the group. The entire building shook as if struck by an earthquake.
Kloroth regained his composure quickly, as he was a warrior, and a powerful one. Using both arms simultaneously, he flung Montgomery and Leonard through the air like rag dolls, each striking an opposing wall many feet away. Stunned, the boys were having a hard time regaining their footing. Kloroth then rose to his full height, lifting Jim up over his head as one would hold a small child. Jim braced for the worst, powerless to break free from the Klingon’s steel-like grip.
The old building, however, was no longer built for such wild activity. With a huge crack that sounded like a powerful gunshot, the floor beneath Kloroth gave way! Kloroth and Jim started to fall through the newly-formed hole into the uncertain depths below!
As the final cracking sound began, Spock quickly assessed the situation: The possible rate of travel of the falling pair, the distance from himself to them, the height of the hook above the chest, and the amount of rope attached through the pulley. Lastly, as he sprang into action, he also calculated his needed speed of travel. He took two running steps towards the chest, leapt onto it, then used the momentum to hurl himself backwards and up toward the hook, turning forward in mid-air like a trapeze artist, as he grabbed the metal object above. His weight pulled the rope freely through the pulley, and his arc of travel took him out and over the pair just as they started their rapid descent.
Jim saw Spock above them, and reached out to his friend. Spock held the hook with one hand and grabbed hold of Jim’s extended hand with the other. The three now started a free-fall into the abyss. The other two boys, having regained their composure, leapt for the quickly diminishing rope on the opposite side of the pulley, using their own body weight to try to slow the descent. Montgomery and Leonard were lifted off of their feet with a powerful jolt, as the combined weight of their friends and the Klingon was simply no match for the two youths.
Kloroth released his death-like grip on Jim, as he reached for an outcropping of broken floor to stop his fall. This gave the boys the opportunity to gain their footing and dig in, saving Kirk and Spock from an unknown fate!
Fate, however, was less kind to Kloroth. There was a momentary smile, as his hands gained purchase on a part of the sub-flooring, a few feet below the main level. Kirk and Spock were hovering just above him, their own descent halted by the quick actions of their friends. As Kloroth reached out to the pair, another loud cracking sound shook the building; the Klingon’s tremendous girth was simply too much for the weakened structure. Kloroth disappeared into the darkness.
His voice echoed throughout the building as he fell: “I am Kloroth! Son of Klorox, son of Kotex, and you’ve not seen the –” A final, bone-crushing thud was the last the boys heard from the Klingon.
With all four chums back on a solid portion of the floor, they assessed the events that had just occurred.
“Spock,” Leonard exclaimed, “that was truly an amazing bit of gymnastics.”
Spock was not one for praise or applause, it was a tenet of his Vulcan training. “Simple mass and speed calculations, combined with basic geometry. All the more reason for young people to take higher mathematics, stay in school, and not use recreational drugs or alcohol.”
“Absolutely,” agreed Montgomery.
Spock gave his own praise to the friends. “I am grateful that you both were able to take hold of the rope. If you did not follow my impromptu plan, my ‘gymnastics’ would have been for naught.”
Jim was examining the chest in the center of the room. “Shall we see what Kloroth was willing to kill for?” The others gathered around closely, as he lifted the lid. The chest was old, but very beautiful; ornately carved wood with rather mysterious markings, but the outside was nothing compared to what lay within. The boys, even Spock, let out an appreciable gasp. Inside the chest, filling it to almost the very top, were thousands upon thousands of what appeared to be solid gold triangles. Each one was struck with the markings of the Klingon empire. A contrast to the weathered chest, they were new and flawless. The room took on golden hues and sparkles along the walls, as the light from their flashlights reflected off the brilliant gold surfaces.
“Klingon Talons.” Spock noted. “I would assume, comparatively worth hundreds of millions, perhaps even more, in Federation credits.”
Leonard whistled quietly. “Kloroth could have lived like a king. Or bought a kingdom of his own. What do you think, Jim?”
“I think our job here is finished. And I also think we’re going to need more than that block and tackle to get this thing out of here.”
“Even collectively we would be unable to move the chest very far.” Spock agreed.
“Don’t worry boys.” Montgomery smiled broadly, “I’ve got just the thing…”
